Triennial Report 2003 - CHARMEC

Materials and maintenance – Material och underhåll (MU) – Werkstoff und Unterhalt – Matériaux et entretienMU16. ALTERNATIVE MATERIALS FOR WHEELS AND RAILSAlternativa material för hjul och rälerAlternative Werkstoffe für Räder und SchienenMatériaux alternatifs pour roues et railsProject leadersand supervisorsDr Johan Ahlström,Assistant Professor, andProfessor Birger Karlsson,Materials Scienceand EngineeringDoctoral candidate Mr Niklas Köppen, MSc(from 2003-10-01)Period 2003-03-01 – 2003-06-30(– 2008-09-01)Chalmers budget Stage 3: ksek 50(excluding university Stage 4: ksek 2150basic resources)Industrial interests Stage 3: –in-kind budget Stage 4: ksek 100+700(Bombardier Transportation+Lucchini Sweden)For photos of Johan Ahlström, Birger Karlsson andNiklas Köppen, see pages 37 and 43Higher demands on service life together with higher nominalloadings argue for better wheel and rail materials.Cleaner steels, systematic ultrasonic testing of manufacturedcomponents and better control of brake systemsin wagons should all decrease the likelihood of accidentsin railway traffic. In practice, however, all componentssuffer now and then from unexpected high loadingsand internal or external defects etc. This calls for moredamage-tolerant base materials. The aim of the mu16project is to study and develop alternative materials/microstructures with respect to fatigue strength undervarying conditions, the most important being low temperatureswhen embrittlement may take place. A closecollaboration with Lucchini in Italy and Sweden will bepursued. A project plan dated 2002-08-26 was approvedby the charmec Board on 19 November 2002.New wheel materials provided by Lucchini fromLovere (Italy) will be investigated regarding tensile andfatigue behaviour at room temperature and at temperaturesdown to –60 °C. Microstructural effects and fractographicappearance will be studied.Systems for monitoring and operation – System för övervakning och drift (SD) – Systeme für Überwachung und Betrieb – Systèmes pour surveillance et opérationSD1. BRAKING OF FREIGHT TRAINS – A SYSTEMS APPROACHBromsning av godståg – en systemstudieBremsen von Güterzügen – eine SystemstudieFreinage de trains de marchandises – étude de systèmesProject leaderand supervisorProfessor Göran Gerbert,Machine and Vehicle Design(now Machine and VehicleSystems)Doctoral candidate Mr Daniel Thuresson(from 1998-12-01;Lic Eng May 2001)Period 1998-12-01 – 2003-06-30(– 2006-06-30)Chalmers budget Stage 2: ksek 1400(excluding university Stage 3: ksek 1300basic resources) Stage 4: ksek 500Industrial interests Stage 2: ksek 400+100in-kind budget (Cardo Rail+SJ Teknik)Stage 3: ksek 250(SAB WABCO)Stage 4: ksek 180+200(Green Cargo+SAB WABCO)PhD student Daniel Thuresson (right) and his supervisor ProfessorGöran Gerbert in project SD1. Photo taken 2000 at a brake rig inthe laboratory of Chalmers Machine and Vehicle DesignWheels and brakes share a considerable burden of themaintenance costs for freight wagons. Greater speedsand increased axle loads have placed higher demands on46